Our disappearing orchards - the history of apple growing in Kent
Chris Levett
- Region:
- Anywhere
- Notice Period:
- Emergency (maybe less than one week's notice)
- Type:
- Individual with all fees going to Motor Neurone Disease Association
- Fee:
- Paid: £125 including travel up to 50 miles, over 50 miles a contribution to travel would be appreciated
- Category:
- Nature
- Updated:
- 7th November 2023
My talk on apples is PowerPoint based to illustrate my informative but light-hearted narrative as the story unfolds. I like to engage the audience as the talk progresses with a few questions I ask.
Can you visualise a stick of Brussels Sprouts, - that's the shape of a modern commercial apple tree of today! That's a far cry from the huge trees with sheep grazing underneath from the 1800's! But how on earth did we get there? Its a real sucess story that I would love to tell.
It all starts in 4000 BC in Kazakhstan and follows their journey to Kent along the great trade routes and finally with the Romans. Did you know that apples became a very valuable 'currency', especially with HMRC and the Church in the Medieval period, and how they became to be called 'Dessert' apples?
I explain the enormous foresight of Henry VIII who ordered the planting of England’s first commercial orchard, and became the launchpad to Kent becoming ‘The Garden of England’. Wassailing was a great tradition then, and I cover the history behind it.
I show what life was like living and working on an 18th century fruit farm; how Turnpiked roads actually benefitted Kent growers and the great importance of the opening of the railways in Victorian times with easier access to other apple markets further afield.
I explain just how critically important East Malling Research Station has been in revolutionising apple growing for ever! As a result the Kent apple acreage reached a peak of over 80,000 acres in the 1950’s.
Since then things have changed and the Kent apple industry has shrunk in the last 70 years. I suggest reasons why it has seen such a dramatic decline. At the end of my talk, I have a brief look forward in the industry and with the extreme shortage of apple pickers worldwide, I show a short video of the world’s first fully robotic apple picker in action.
Where available, I bring some old English apple varieties, cut up to see and taste. I also bring 2 potted apple trees which I use to demonstrate just how much orchards have intensified, especially since the 1940's.
My talk is 40-45 minutes so that with questions the sessions are no more than 1 hour,
Views: 281 | Enquiries: 3About Chris Levett
I am passionate about hops and fruit, they have been in my life pretty much since I was born 71 years ago! The many generations of the Levett family have been farming hops and fruit in Kent and Sussex for well over 250 years. I grew up on a hop and fruit farm and spent most of my school holidays helping on my parent's farms. Kent used to be the 'Garden of England' - but sadly no longer. There are less and less of us remaining who have the memories of the great tales and traditions that grew up over time in both those industries.
I graduated from Wye College in Plant Sciences in 1974 and following university I worked on a hop, arable and livestock farm in Worcestershire for a year before returning to Kent to take up a job as a farm manager on 150 acres of hops and fruit.
After 5 years as a farm manager I spent a year in the little known trade of Hop Factoring representing hop growers selling their hops to hop merchants. In 1979 we bought a 25acre fruit farm in Cranbrook in Kent and my wife and I built up the business to 100 acres of apples, pears and cherries, a large farm shop and coffee shop, employing 40 staff. From 2007 I worked for 10 years for the Fruit Advisory Services Team advising fruit growers on all aspects of fruit production.
With our son and daughter-in-law now managing our shops and farms, I have the opportunity, and thoroughly enjoy, giving talks and passing on my 60 years experience and knowledge in the hop and fruit industries, gained over a lifetime's work.
My talks are suitable for a wide range of groups, including U3A, history societies, horticultural groups, farming organisations, home brewing groups and anyone with an interest in how our countryside has changed over the years.
All my fees go to the Motor Neurone Disease Association, one of the most appalling diseases.
TESTIMONIALS
We thoroughly enjoyed your very informative talk - really well researched, well put together, well paced and presented!
Congratulations, very good and well deserved. We thought it was an excellent talk and very informative.
Thank you for your most enjoyable and informative presentation last evening Chris.
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